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Original Text from Enderphd@aol.com
youre gonna write one? no fair! sooo much competition...mine wont be
very
good... if you write one, emial it to me! I have a feeling i'll enjoy
it! =)
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Here you go--and of course it'll be good! I am the High Priest of
the Temple of the Teal-tressed Goddess after all ^^!
For The Love of Kiyone
A Tenchi-Muyo fanfic by Keiichi Masaki
(Keiichi_dono@hotmail.com, Keiichi_dono@scifianime.com)
Tenchi and Kiyone Masaki (did I hear a collective faint? Good!), as
well as the rest of the cast from Tenchi-Muyo!, are the property of
Pioneer and AIC.
Author's note/rant: This is my response fic to Dr. Tran's challenge
on the FFML, and to a similar one made at GenSao's this weekend.
Ten-Kiyo fics are my stock in trade (no apologies whatsoever to the
RFFC), and so, being the High Priest of the Temple of the
Teal-tressed Goddess, it falls to me.
(Author ducks rocks and bricks thrown by various RFFC members bearing
the words "traitor" and "heretic")
Well� on with the fic:
Chapter 1: Up On The Roof
"Kami-sama, don't they ever give it a rest?!" Tenchi was
stretched out on the roof, staring into the night sky. "Good thing
it's summer," he mused to himself, "or I'd be freezing up here."
The house rocked with another explosion.
Tenchi sighed. For some reason, the fights between Ayeka and
Ryoko had been getting more violent the past few weeks. All it would
take these days was for their eyes to meet, and bang! The house
would need a new wall.
Good thing Washu works for food, he thought.
"Tenchi? Tenchi, you up there?"
"Eh?" Tenchi leaned over the edge of the roof and looked
down. Kiyone was standing halfway up the ladder, peering up at him.
"Oh, Kiyone. Come on up." He reached down a hand to her.
"Thanks." Kiyone took his hand and hauled herself onto the
roof. She seated herself next to Tenchi, and smiled wryly at him.
"Up here for some peace and quiet?"
"Not like there's any in the house," Tenchi agreed.
As if to underline his statement, the house shook again.
Kiyone sighed. "That sounds like another wall."
"Wait�" Tenchi held up his hand, waiting expectantly, and
brought it down at the very moment of another explosion. "That
sounded more like two walls..." The house shook a final time. "�and
a support beam. Washu'll be earning her breakfast tomorrow."
"What were they fighting about this time?" asked Kiyone.
"Sasami had made some rice cakes. Ryoko and Ayeka's hands
met over the last one."
Kiyone winced.
"Yeah, I know."
"Have you tried talking to them?" Kiyone inquired.
Tenchi's face went red. "I've tried."
"Tenchi�" Kiyone sounded exasperated, just a few notches
above when she was dealing with Mihoshi's blunders. "This'll go on
forever unless you try to stop them� unless you decide between the
two of them."
"I know� you're right, of course�" Tenchi blew out an
exasperated breath. "I've tried, you know. And every time�"
"Are you in love with either of them?" pressed Kiyone.
"I� I don't know anymore. When Ayeka first arrived, I
thought I could love her, but then I started getting closer to Ryoko,
but every time I tried to tell one or the other, something happened,
the moment passed� and ever since we went back in time to save Mom
and Dad, the littlest things set them off! You've seen it; in the
past month we've had to replace five walls, the TV, the stairs, Dad's
car, and the entire kitchen! If it wasn't for Washu, Dad would be
even further in debt!"
"I know, I've been there, remember?" she reminded him.
"And the worst thing of all� this may sound a little
egotistical, but� sometimes I don't think either of them care about
me. Oh, I know I've seen a lot of evidence to the contrary, but the
way they fight, and the way nothing or no one else matters when their
ire is up� sometimes I just feel like one more think to fight over."
"That's understandable, and not as egotistical as you think,
Tenchi." Kiyone abruptly shivered. "Ungh� getting a little cold out
here."
"That tends to happen when you go up on the roof in shorts
and a T-shirt." Tenchi undid the sash of this shrine tunic and
pulled it off, then draped it around Kiyone's shoulders. "There.
Better?"
"Mmm, much. Thank you." Kiyone wrapped the tunic tighter
around herself. "You were saying?"
"Oh, yeah. Now� I dunno� there's no nice way to say it,
y'know? I've been trying to find those feelings again, but� I don't
love either of them, Kiyone. Not anymore. Sometimes, I start to
wonder if I ever did."
"That's understandable," Kiyone responded. "You're
only-what? Seventeen?"
"Yeah."
"Believe me, when I was your age, I was second-guessing
myself on an hourly basis. And you have to admit that the
circumstances you live in aren't exactly normal by any stretch of the
imagination."
Tenchi smiled at Kiyone. "Thanks. I guess I needed that."
"And you also need to tell the two of them how you feel-or
don't feel," she continued. "I know you don't want to hurt them, but
leading them on like this, however unintentional, isn't helping
matters."
"You're right," agreed Tenchi. "There's just one thing that
worries me."
"Oh?"
"If I tell them this-they may get really angry, and that I'd
expect, but more than that, they may become convinced that someone
'stole me away.' They may feel a need to fight for me."
Kiyone didn't bother to stifle the snort of amusement.
"Neither of them are big on logic, are they?"
"Not really." Tenchi smiled at Kiyone again. "You know, I
feel a lot better now. Ever thought of doing this professionally?"
"Counseling people? Sorry, but no one in Japan would accept
my college diploma."
After their laughter had subsided, Tenchi leaned back, laying
on his back again. "Y'know, in all the time we've know each other,
you've never talked much about yourself."
Kiyone chuckled and shifted around, so she could look at her
companion. "Oh, it's a very boring story�"
"A boring story would be a nice change from all the
excitement around here," he countered. "So, talk."
"Well, all right. I grew up on a world called Megami�"
They spent the next two hours talking on the roof before
moving inside to continue the conversation. As the night grew
colder, neither of them noticed the moment when they drew together,
for warmth. When Tenchi wrapped an arm around Kiyone and she
snuggled closer, neither of them was aware that it was for anything
other than staying warm. Nor did they notice that when Kiyone went
to bed, she was still wearing Tenchi's tunic.
Someone else would notice, however.
End Chapter 1
Please C&C. Ch. 2 will be out soon.
Keiichi Masaki, High Priest of the Temple of the Teal-tressed Goddess, Kiyone Makibi
Member of the Kiyone Ring and the Tenchi Ring
Co-writer, Mugen Tenchi Muyo!
http://members.xoom.com/RC_Books/mugen1.html
Visit my Temple of the Teal-tressed Goddess
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Palace/9909
ICQ #: 18044248
"I am the one you think I am."
--Katsuhito "Yosho" Masaki
"The carnival comes and goes. If you wait for a while,
it'll always come back to you."
--Ryoko
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